Monday, March 30, 2015

Some 23.000 plug-ins were sold last month, which represents a slight slip from the 24k of the previous month, but it is still 19% above the same month last year, so the good news continue, despite the Japanese market drop and the US slowdown. The top position goes for the Leaf for the forteenth month in a row, but YoY sales are down for the second consecutive month, are the wrinkles starting to show up?

Next in the February ranking, there are four models separated by just 161 units, the Tesla Model leads the pack with 2.001 units, followed by the BYD Qin (1.932 units, yet another record), the Outlander PHEV (1.872) and the BMW i3 (1.840), it might seem odd that Mitsu's SUV scored so few registrations, but the explanation should appear in March, with record sales in the UK...

Moving on, the YTD ranking shows one major chang, with the Renault Zoe moving up two positions to #7, while reversely, the Golf GTE drops two positions to #9.

A final reference to the Ford Fusion Energi, it was #10 in February, with 609 units, and it is #11 in the YTD chart, still some 300 units behind the #10 Chevy Volt, will it be able to surpass GM's car and recover a place in the Top 10?

Pl

WORLD

Feb.

YTD

%

'14Pl

1

Nissan Leaf

3.624

6.936

15

1

2

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

1.872

4.772

10

5

3

Tesla Model S

2.001

4.113

9

3

4
5
6

BYD QinBMW i3
Volkswagen e-Golf

1.932
1.840
1.105

3.8433.1792.364

8
7
5

7
6
21

7

Renault Zoe

984

1.704

4

9

8

Toyota Prius Plug-In

830

1.698

4

5

9

Volkswagen Golf GTE

527

1.560

3

33

10

Chevrolet Volt (1)

748

1.390

3

4

TOTAL

23.088

47.822

Manufacturers - BYD is Rising

If the top two positions seem like a certainty (For now, at least), BYD managed to remove Volkswagen from the Third Spot, and it was even the Second Best Selling brand this February! It's the first time BYD hits the manufacturers podium since...Ever, really, being also the first time that a chinese brand gets a podium seat.Profiting from a poor performance from Chery, Chevrolet recovered a Top 10 seat, appearing in #10.

Saturday, March 28, 2015

The ExceptionUnlike the upbeat trend going on in most of the major EV markets, the Japanese is down a harsh 44%, with 2.934 units sold last month, which is the worst February since 2012, this is even more significant since it usually is one of the best selling months of the year...The consequence of all this is that the EV Share has plunged to 0,63%, far from the 0.98% held by the end of 2014, considering that the Toyota Terminator Mirai FCV has been warmly received in Japan (At least 1.500 orders, when Toyota expected to deliver just 400 units in the whole year of 2015), can this mean that the local EV market will be the first/only to be threatened by the arrival of FCV's? Anyway, looking at the YTD models ranking, the Leaf is once more in #1, while the #2 Mitsu Outlander PHEV disappointed, selling only 603 units, the explanation should be found next month, as it isn't the first time that its local market is sacrificed to place more units in more profitable markets ("UK, anyone?").

Thursday, March 26, 2015

Zoe EditionWith some 8.200 units, the European EV market continues to post significant growth rates, sales were up 57% regarding the same month last year, so the 120K target for 2015 might be already small...Let's see how the next months develop.

Looking at the models ranking, the Outlander PHEV continues sovereign, being the only model to reach the four-digit area (1.184 units), while the Renault Zoe is back at good performances (979 sales), winning the Monthly Best-Selling Pure Electric car, ahead of the e-Golf (970 units) and the Nissan Leaf (740 units, worst performance since March '13). In Fifth we get the BMW i3, a return to form after a poor January.

Pl

Model

Sales

1

Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV

1.184

2

Renault Zoe

979

3

Volkswagen e-Golf

975

4

Nissan Leaf

740

5

BMW i3

602

Looking at the YTD ranking, the headline news is the Golf GTE losing three positions to #5, while its premium cousin, the Audi A3 e-Tron is on the rise, climbing two positions to #9.

But changes didn't stopped there, in the second half of the ranking, the Renault Kangoo ZE recovered some pulse and raised three positions to #13, still far from the #8 won last year, but enough to get away from its closest competitor on the LCV trophy, the #17 Nissan e-NV200.

Looking at the brands ranking, Volkswagen continues firm in the leadership, with 23% share, followed by Mitsubishi (19%), while Renault is recovering ground, it's now Third with 13% share.

Wednesday, March 25, 2015

200 EV's were sold, which is is an increase of 12% in registrations regarding the same month last year, these numbers were expected to be higher, but then again, you can't always have record editions...

Looking at the models ranking, there is a new leader, the Porsche Cayenne Plug-In registered 53 units (Personal Best) and rose to #1, dropping to Second the Nissan Leaf, which is back to normal (17 sales), the BMW i3 also climbed one position, it is now #3, changing positions with the Model S.

Next is another BMW, the i8 continues in #5, but the Mitsu Outlander PHEV (21 registrations) is on recovery mode and along with the Cayenne, it's surfing the Plug-in Hybrid SUV wave, it is now #6 but i wouldn't be surprised if the Mitsu Star would be Fifth next month.

The Audi A3 e-Tron also had a good month (15 units), climbing to #9, with Mercedes landing (5 units) their S500 Plug-In vessel.

In the manufacturers ranking, Porsche in now on the lead (25% Share), followed by BMW (23%), while in a distant Third we have Nissan, with 14% share.

Monday, March 23, 2015

There were 26 EV's sold last month, mounting the full year numbers to 54 units, which is a bit of an anti-climax, because although sales are up 46% regarding last year, i hoped that with the new 4.500 euro government grant, sales would skyrocket and put this market among the stars of this year. It doesn't seem to be the case.

Looking at the models ranking, the two electric stars of the Renault-Nissan Alliance cars (Leaf and Zoe) benefited the most with the subsidy, with the japanese dethroning the BMW i3 from the leadership and the french car reaching the Third spot.

A final reference to the Opel Ampera, it has sold in February 2 units, which the same amount of sales it had in the whole of 2014...

Saturday, March 21, 2015

For now there are only available the BEV numbers, but nevertheless, they are enough to put the Austrian EV market ahead of last year (166 vs 163 BEV and PHEV combined), so this another market set for growth this year.Volkswagen had bittersweet news coming from this market, if the e-Golf finally took off and reached the leadership, its smaller brother e-Up! suddenly stopped selling, delivering only single digit sales, something that didn't happened since 2013. The Renault Zoe is Second, followed by the Nissan Leaf, its best position since 2013.The Merc B-Class ED has landed and it will be interesting to see its performance, given the soft-spot Austrians have for MPV's.

Thursday, March 19, 2015

Balanced EditionAnother positive month for the Swiss EV Market, with 190 sales, with the EV Share at 1,14%, with two models in the leadership, the VW Golf GTE and the Renault Zoe, with the #3 Tesla Model S losing a bit of ground, nothing to worry about yet, so the race for Best Seller looks as balanced as last year, promising lots of last minute thrills. The race for #4 is also hot, with three models separated by just two units, with the BMW i3 taking the lead for the time being.The Nissan Leaf seems to be losing steam, while the eco-car-exotica Volkswagen XL1 is experiencing a (small) sales success, having sold already 7 units this year